Object Details
- Summary
- This control surface cover comes from a Schmetterling (Butterfly) German anti-aircraft missile. Of all the experimental antiaircraft missiles of World War II, the Schmetterling (Butterfly) came closest to deployment. It originated in 1941, when Henschel's talented missile designer, Herbert Wagner, proposed several antiaircraft projects. However, the Air Ministry did not authorize the missile's development until 1943. Mass production was ordered in December 1944, with deployment to begin in March 1945--an unrealistic timetable typical of Germany's desperate programs late in the war.
- The U.S. Army Ordnance Museum transferred this Schmetterling control surface to the Smithsonian in 1988.
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum
- Materials
- Steel
- Paint
- Cadmium
- Dimensions
- Overall: 2 1/4in. x 3/4in. x 1ft 1 5/8in. (5.72 x 1.91 x 34.61cm)
- Type
- CRAFT-Missile & Rocket Parts
